http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/may/12/forget-leadership-contest-new-labour-roots-social-movement-supporters-save-party
I spent this evening at two meetings.
The later (or latter?) was a meeting of the left caucus of members of the UNISON…Read more…
Greater London UNISON international Committee and Greece Solidarity Campaign
Picture is from yesterday’s AGM of Greater London UNISON International and Europe Committee. Kim Silver was re-elected Chair and I was re-elected Vice Chair.
Below is the draft report on this part of the meeting. I hope to also post later t…Read more…
What are we going to do now?
https://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/a-eced-WHERE-DO-WE-GO-NOW#.VVJgj2pMVxs
I ended the last post on this blog with an implicit echo of Spike Milligan’s question – at the end of each episode of the various “Q” series – “what are we going to do now?”
I t…Read more…
Trade union leaders and the Tories – “business as usual or unite like never before”?
http://www.theguardian.com/public-leaders-network/2015/may/12/trade-unions-next-five-years-unite-like-never-before
I don’t know how grateful trade unionists should be to the dear old Grauniad for asking our leaders for their prognosis for the next five…Read more…
Cameron’s Equality appointments: the latest Whitehall Farce
Equalities has always been central to my trade unionism: if we are not about equality, then we are nothing.
The new Tory Government has said that it thinks equality (other than economic equality, of…Read more…
Tories set to all but end right to strike – how shall we respond?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-32702585
Unlike the Lib Dems five years ago it looks like the Tories intend to keep to some (at least) of their manifesto commitments.
The widely canvassed 50% turnout threshold for strike ballots (with a higher bar o…Read more…
2015-2020: a do-or-die period for UK trade unions
‘Trade unions will now pay a heavy price for Labour’s defeat. Tory plans are set out clearly enough in their election manifesto, including the much-trumpeted proposals for yet more restrictions on…Read more…
London Loop Walk Section 3: “Petts Wood to West Wickham Common”
The General election is finally over, for good or bad (and I think it is very bad). Yesterday I had my first free Sunday for ages and went off and walked section 3 of the London Loop Walk “Petts Wood to West Wickham”.
The weather was warm and mostly s…Read more…
Bernie Sanders and Michael Harrington: A second chance?
My first article ever for Salon. That’s my original title, and this is how my version of it opened: Current speculation about a possible Bernie Sanders challenge to Hillary Clinton in 2016 is…Read more…
Company responses to high shareholder votes against exec pay
As I’ve blogged previously, the new version of the UK Corporate Governance Code requires companies to make a statement in response to large votes against them. This was introduced due to concerns that companies were treating near misses on exec pay vot…Read more…
Turkish Entanglement
DIFFERENT REPORTING. Mail didn’t have name or photograph. Turkish papers, evidently better briefed, had both, and claimed to know whom arrested Brit had been working for. …Read more…
Why we lost and what are we going to do about it?
) Labour have a mountain to climb (see very subtle picture left) but we should not in my view be totally beating ourselves up over our performance on Thursday.
Everyone has an opinion nowadays and these are my views for better or for worse. …Read more…
After the General Election…
The NUT is party politically independent and always has been. However, like many NUT members, I was involved in the General Election campaigns, fighting hard to avoid the outcome that we got on…Read more…
A quarter of National Express shareholders revolt over labour rights
One of the things some people won’t have noticed in the aftermath of the election is a very significant shareholder revolt at National Express over labour rights at its AGM last week.
A group of shareholders including LAPFF members had filed a resolut…Read more…
Let’s not follow the Leader?
http://labourlist.org/2015/05/who-might-stand-for-the-labour-leadership/
A generally unappealing bunch of career politicians appear set to contest the leadership of the Labour Party, with a relatively swift election which will put a new Party Leader in…Read more…
Some post-election thoughts
Well, that wasn’t pretty. As someone who has participated in elections since the age of 12, that one rates alongside 1979 and 1992 in terms of outcome, and possibly worse in terms of the campaign…Read more…
Disputed Victories
CELEBRATING DELIVERANCE. Rehobothers celebrating victory at Sam Khubis with traditional ‘lang-arm’ dance. But should Namibia’s president be welcome?
YESTERDAY’S commemorations of VE Day -…Read more…
The West Ham Count 2015 at the Olympic Velopark
I have mixed emotions looking at this collage. On the one hand we had a fantastic victory in West Ham that night with our Labour MP, Lyn Brown, being re-elected with a majority of 27,986 and 68.4% (increase of 5.8% from 2010) share of the vote. &n…Read more…
Ilford North snapshot – May 7th
There was loads of Labour Party and trade union supporters in Ilford North on Thursday, so this is only a limited snapshot of what went on that day.
Westhammers were there at 5am to deliver reminder leaflets (followed by a well deserved breakfast in t…Read more…
How those who were too left to back Labour helped to ensure that the Tories got their majority…
The interests of the working class were served by those who voted Labour last Thursday, for all that our Party is dominated by those who won’t do enough to defend our interests (and that our trade unions are led by those who consistently refuse to do a…Read more…